Vatican Cuts Off Ministry For Gays

The Founders Were Told Their Teachings Were Incorrect And Could Cause More Harm Than Good.

July 14, 1999|By Knight Ridder Newspapers

VATICAN CITY - After a 12-year investigation, the Vatican on Tuesday ordered the founders of an outreach program for Roman Catholic homosexuals to stop ministering to gays and lesbians.

The unexpected ruling by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope John Paul II's official watchdog for Catholic orthodoxy, could end the careers of the two most famous Catholic gay-rights activists in the United States.

As the founders of the New Life Ministry, the Rev. Robert Nugent and Sister Jeannine Gramick, who live near Baltimore, have crisscrossed the country for more than two decades encouraging gay Catholics to remain in the church, addressing conferences and running workshops aimed at combating homophobia and encouraging compassion.

Nugent and Gramick were returning from Rome on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. However, their longtime colleague Francis DeBernardo said he was stunned by the edict.

The irony of Tuesday's ruling, said DeBernardo, is that Nugent and Gramick ``have both been loyal to the church. Gay and lesbian Catholics view them as a very moderate voice - and they're going to be very hurt that even these moderate voices are being silenced.''

Vatican official Ratzinger, however, said the pair had given a false impression that the church's condemnation of gay sex might someday change. His four-page ruling says they ``have caused confusion among the Catholic people and have harmed the community of the church.''

Detroit Cardinal Adam Maida, an expert in church law who was assigned by the Vatican to conduct a major portion of the investigation, said Tuesday that church officials judged that Nugent's and Gramick's ``ministry can cause more harm than good if it is conducted in the midst of controversy and ambiguity.''

The Vatican's long investigation ended in a showdown. According to the ruling, Ratzinger's committee demanded that Nugent and Gramick sign documents agreeing to support the church's doctrine on homosexuality. The committee stressed that homosexuality is an ``intrinsically disordered'' condition, that gay sex is evil and that the church's doctrine can never be changed.